


The World's Most Beautiful Love-Flower on Fire

by Slaygirl1234



Series: Allurements and Sweeteners (Everyone Try to Survive) [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Badass Mai (Avatar), Domestic Fluff, F/F, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Ty Lee (Avatar), Mutual Pining, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26269975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaygirl1234/pseuds/Slaygirl1234
Summary: For Mai, recovery isn't linear and the fear of lightning and Azula remains within her. Everything comes to ahead when she walks through the recovering Fire Nation with Ty Lee.
Relationships: Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Series: Allurements and Sweeteners (Everyone Try to Survive) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1908499
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	The World's Most Beautiful Love-Flower on Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Wanted to write about lesbian yearning, so I did. This doesn't follow the comics exactly lol. They might be OOC because I'm a shitty writer.

Mai knew, of course, falling in love after the war would make everything difficult. But... it was Ty Lee.

Ty Lee... just made things a lot more difficult than it should be, Mai lamented as she sipped her tea, but Mai didn't really want to change it either way.

 _(Ty Lee with the way she closed her eyes whenever she laughed, Ty Lee with the way she never could walk on her damned legs, Ty Lee with the way she spilled ink on her fingers, Ty Lee with the way she had a smile that deepened both dimples_ _; everything about her was art - a self-portrait.)_

The longer she waited in the half-abandoned building, one her father bought for her as a birthday gift, with a family portrait of them painted on the wall in front of her, encased in gold, the more she started to sigh impatiently and turn around to look outside the window so much her neck nearly snapped. Her own painted face, with a strained smile, mocked her; Ty Lee didn't show up, did she? 

Shooting impatient looks outside, through the open window, which revealed bustling people that chatted and laughed freely a lot more than they would, Mai didn't spot the a young, petite woman with cute pig tails and soft grey eyes. In contrast, she spotted Fire Nation guards roaming about to tear down the pro-Ozai posters with his ugly, ugly grin and hoarse, goat-like beard, left by surprisingly many people who liked Ozai better. 

_(God, how many, many nights has she lived in fear with his face imprinted on her mind with that voice whispering the things he would do to the people she loved if she angered Azula?)_

No- 

Mai pulled out a knife from her sleeve. Her breath quickened and her heart accelerated, the world darkening and closing in on her. Like instinct, she threw it up. She watched it become a quick glimpse of silver before letting it fall on the tip of her forefinger. For a few seconds, the knife held itself ramrod straight _(focusfocusfocus)_ before Mai felt her heart calm. Once she calmed, she grabbed the knife handle and threw it at the wall. 

It landed on the space between her and Tom-Tom. Mai had knelt in front of Tom-Tom, struggling to keep the smile on her face as Tom-Tom wriggled and squealed, impatient with the painter's slow strokes, her grasp like iron bars onto his body. While Mai liked the painter's skill, admiring the way the natural light brightened Tom-Tom's smile and made her face a lot more flattering than it should be, it never washed away the bitter taste of that day in her mouth. Her father got it in her head to have a family portrait once he got his promotion, after years and years of tightrope-walking to please Ozai, because he wanted to celebrate the moment their family became 'the family' or something and hung it back at the Fire Nation for some reason. ( _Look how long that lasted.)_

Sighing, Mai stood up and pulled the knife out of her wall. As she stood back, she could spot all the other holes dug into the wall, having accumulated throughout the years of frustration and stress that always loomed over her head whenever military generals visited her parents with the word "war" on their lips, whenever Azula barged into her life and pulled her apart for her own amusement, whenever- 

"Maiiiiii! Where are you? I'm here for you!" 

Ty Lee's voice, followed by the sound of the creaky door slamming shut, jolted her out of that... episode. Mai shoved the knife back into her sleeve, reminding her she had to keep her mind clear, as Ty Lee got louder and closer. Ty Lee's footsteps, no matter how light and airy they were, echoed within the silence - she was gaining speed. 

"I'm coming for you, don't worry," said Mai blandly as she wrestled with her speeding heart. As silly as it sounded, she cursed her heart for betraying her. At least her face wasn't red. Within moments, Ty Lee rushed upstairs and welcomed Mai with a loud cry that soothed Mai's troubles _(so easily Mai wondered if Ty Lee cast a spell on her)_. 

"Heyyyy! Sorry I'm late!" said Ty Lee before rushing at Mai, enveloping Mai in a hug that knocked the wind out of her. Mai relaxed her position, letting go of the fingers latched onto her knives, and slowly, hesitatingly, hugs her back, her arms barely brushing against the pink tulle fabric of her dress.

The hug lasts for a heartbeat and ends too soon. Once it ends, the world returns to them and they smile at one another. 

"Thank God," said Mai, "Took you long enough. I waited here for thirty minutes; I was going to die of boredom."

Ty Lee rubbed her neck awkwardly. "Hehe, uhm, I was going to leave but the Kyoshi Warriors had to discuss a few things." 

"Oh, what was it about?"

Mai had always been _slightly_ jealous of Ty Lee for managing to join the Warriors after, you know, beating them up and parading as them around the Earth Kingdom as an invasion ploy. But Ty Lee had always been a people-person, a lot more than Azula had been. If Mai had lived a different life, she would've gladly joined them and wear blades and just... kick people's asses, as Aang said, but, even then, Mai wasn't sure if she'd be willing to suffer the strict, demanding routine of putting on make-up perfectly and not having it been smudged. 

Ty Lee flushed and avoided looking her eyes. "Oh, uhm, nothing? Zuko said he'll tell you later." 

Sensing that Ty Lee would clam up if Mai pushed her, Mai shrugged it off and focused her attention on something else; Ty Lee's dress. Even if it wasn't her taste, there was no denying its prettiness. "Wow, where'd you get that?" 

That was the right thing to say. Ty Lee giggled and twirled around, her pink tulle skirt flaring around her and creating a rosy oceanic effect. "You like it? I made it myself!" 

"You must have a lot of time for that, honestly. You look very pretty, to be honest." _(Very pretty, that was an understatement.)_ In fact, Ty Lee's whole appearance prompted the question of just how much time Ty Lee had.

Instead of her usual pig tails, her hair, soft and silky, now hung loosely around her shoulders, complimenting the gentle rose-colour of her dress. Her hands, covered in silky gloves the colour of strawberries, swung happily by her sides. The dress itself reminded Mai of strawberries, not because of the colour or overall 'aura' - God, Mai never thought Ty Lee would possess her mind -, but also because of the various strawberries imprinted onto the thing. The capped sleeves with the tulle fringes at the end, the two lace-knots that followed the curve of a risque, plunged neckline, the thick tulle edges that added more flair to the dress, all of it made Mai's throat tighten and something fiery erupted in her being. 

"Thanks." That giggle haunted Mai's ears. 

Mai tried to keep the blush down. "Is this why you asked me to wear something pink, so we could match?" 

"Yeah, but..." Her eyes roved over Mai's entire outfit. Wow, one look could make Mai defensive, who knew? "You're wearing black." 

"No, I actually tied my hair with a pink ribbon. Look, there's even a pink thread on this dress." Mai pointed at a loose pink silk thread on her purely black dress. 

Ty Lee pouted even more and Mai cracked a smile at that before following after the jogging Ty Lee. Her chest seemed lighter once they stepped outside, breathing in the fresh, crisp air that tickled her skin. The laughter of kids welcomed her ears and Mai watched, with a smile on her face, two kids play-wrestle. The people around them provided the background music to their rhythmic conversation, beat for beat; their laughter punctured the silence between Mai and Ty Lee, their advertising speech made them discuss whether or not it was handy for Ty Lee to buy a pet animal on instinct.

Every now and then, Ty Lee or Mai stopped to check out whatever thing caught their eye. For Ty Lee, it was a pretty seashell necklace from the Southern Watertribe, where someone had engraved a heart in, a packed lunch for both of them _(Mai tried to pay for half of it, which Ty Lee refused)_ , and a pretty, grey coat that brought out the dewy glow of her diamond-coloured eyes. _(God, Ty Lee had no right to be so pretty)._

"You like it?" Ty Lee twirled around in that coat. 

The shopkeeper, a pleasant, old woman, clapped her hands and complimented her. The muscles of Mai's throat worked to explain to Ty Lee just how she reminded her of an artistic ideal, a fanciful dream, a haunting memory, everything that required Mai to break down her armour and speak what her unreliable heart wanted to speak, but Mai merely smiled, nodded, and said Ty Lee looked nice - she could convince people to do anything. Ty Lee beamed at that and never took the coat off.

For Mai, she often stopped for new knives that Mai had never seen before, all from the Earth Kingdom or the Watertribes, engraved with rubies, diamonds, amethysts, all that, and armour pieces that would add more safety _(Yes, she wanted to look cool, but she'd never say Ty Lee was right about that),_ specifically the gold pieces meant for her wrists. Once she bought those wrist pieces, she slipped it on her wrists, hiding it beneath her long sleeves, knowing she'd have such a cool effect on people if she pulled out a knife and threw it at them and dodged their blows with the golden wrist pieces, hopefully blinding them in the process. The man admiringly nodded his head once he saw the knife collection hidden under her sleeve.

Generally, it felt like the Fire Nation started to breathe again, slowly learning how to keep up a steady heartbeat. Had they forgotten the great, wide shadow that spread its wing over them and started to pick off the weak and innocent at a will?

No, they remembered. Mai suddenly knew that when she saw a mother smile at her child for playing, bright but strained, with sad lines around her face, before hurriedly grabbing their child once the mother saw a Fire Nation guard, her fingers digging in painfully. The Fire Nation guard looked confused, as he was still a pimply, plucky man, before looking at the uniform and understanding dawned, where he smiled at them and left. The mother and the child walked away, holding hands, as the child blabbed about whatever she did at school. 

Seeing the way they held hands like they shared a heartbeat, Mai chewed her lip and looked at Ty Lee, at Ty Lee's hand, swinging around, almost tempting her. Mustering as much courage as she could, instead of just doing it and dealing with Ty Lee's reaction, which might end up like "Eww, Mai, what are you doing?", Mai breathed in deep breaths and lifted her hand, bridging the gap. Almost, almost-

"Oh my God!" gasped Ty Lee, suddenly running off, and leaving Mai behind. 

Mai could barely pull herself together, forcing the tsunami of the myriad of emotions whirling around inside her, and watched Ty Lee with a blank sense of shock. Ty Lee left me, Mai told herself, What should I do? Ty Lee didn't seem to notice Mai's reaction; she, too, was slack-jawed and wide-eyed, her eyes scrolling over and over that piece of paper bound on the pole. 

Ty Lee turned pale. "Oh my God... why would they..."

"What?" Mai wanted Ty Lee to hear her clipped tone. 

Ty Lee looked far more upset about the poster. Mai focused her gaze on the poster, spikes of irritation flaming up inside her before realising just what Mai was seeing; all six faces of Ty Lee grinned back at them, three of them swinging from a bar, three of them doing acrobatics below, somehow forming an impressive six-pointed star. Oh, Mai had forgotten about Ty Lee's sister-complex. She had to admit, battling with six other siblings, who all could be your identical twins, 

"Well, that looks impressive, I never knew you taught them how to do acrobatics-"

"I never did." Ty Lee pouted, a dark shadow clouding her face. "We were always good about it, you know, but... we always promised that it would be my thing." 

"Well, you can bring it up to them." pointed Mai out as she placed her finger on the time. "It's going to start in an hour; it's only a twenty-minute walk, ten if we jog."

"I... I don't know. They seem kinda happy." 

"They have to be; it's an advertisement. Nobody comes to see a sad acrobat." 

Ty Lee ignored that comment. "Why would they do me like this?" With that suddenly wistful, broken tone, Ty Lee slowly turned around, her eyes filled with hurt and her lips wobbling from the intensity of her stirring emotions. Mai immediately felt her irritation and scorn vanish inside her. 

"We can always go to the circus, so you can have a firm word with them." 

Blinking, Ty Lee nodded and shook her head, clearly torn. "Well not a firm word... They are my sisters... I thought they knew better..." 

Mai chewed the inside of her cheek ( _Why is she always compromising? Why is it always about everyone's feelings, never hers? ~~Why, why, why does it seem like it's Azula-~~ ) _

Above them, without a warning, the sky rumbled, a ear-piercing shriek that made Mai shudder and broke Mai's train of thought. With fear crawling down her spine like a spider, Mai glanced up, and, much to the dread brewing in her stomach, the dark, grey clouds overpowered the clear skies, proudly showing themselves, as she spotted snake-shaped light slithering through the darkening skies that began to resemble soot. 

"It's going to rain soon." Her voice sounded far-away, as if it wasn't even her own. Mai grabbed Ty Lee's shoulder, still not managing to grab her hand _(There would always be that cowardly, criminally part of her that would always know Mai never deserved something that felt like a walk through the wilderness, with the golden sunshine warming Mai up, feeling the tickling, tall grass underneath her fingers, stopping to smell the nectar of blossoming flowers with bees sitting on the petals)._

"Let's go. Right now. It's going to thunder." Mai prayed Ty Lee didn't hear her quickening heartbeat. Mai also prayed Ty Lee couldn't feel the fear. 

Ty Lee saw Mai's face and closed her mouth, nodding her head. Focusing ahead, seeing the way everybody started packing up and heading back home, Mai rushed forwards, only daring to shoot a few looks back to make sure Ty Lee was following, and felt relief rush over her once she spotted the tall pink circus, with red flags flying in the air, from a far, only catching a few glimpses between the masses of people waiting outside.

Mai expertly shoved herself between people, not bothering to apologise once people got mad, and bought two passes with backstage access. Once she turned around, she spotted Ty Lee flying over people, sometimes gently stepping on people's head, and, after blinking once, found Ty Lee standing next to her, smiling widely. Mai shoved the annoyance down at how easily cheered up she seemed and handed her a ticket. 

"Here." Ty Lee barely had time to accept the ticket shoved into her hands. "Now you can have a fight with your sisters."

"That's not what I want-"

Mai turned around before she could listen anything further, already flashing the bodyguard the backstage access ticket and walking inside the bustling circus. Once she felt Ty Lee was at a safer distance, she let the tension melt and let out a long, bored sigh. It barely seemed that the dynamics have changed; it was always Ty Lee making some plan and Mai following her, like a lost loyal puppy. Didn't she do that with Azula? Wasn't that the thing people held over her head whenever they saw her? Her breaths became ragged when she remembered Azula's face, angered and murderous, when she remembered the sparks of lightning erupting from her fingers-

Every single emotion that she'd pushed down, bubbled up inside of her and, as she stiffened her jaw and felt the world close in on her, surrounded by the loudloud noises _god why were they so loud why is the rumbling going on-_

"Come onn..." A sleazy, slurred voice, belonging to a red-faced, burly man, illuminated by the quick crackle of thunder that highlighted the cruelty and cowardice of his face, something that stoked Mai's blood. "Let's have some fun!" 

While the white-hot fear inside Mai brewed, resulting in clammy heads and a damp forehead and shaky muscles every time the snake-shaped light behind the dark skies threatened to lash out, the young woman's cry of "Fuck off, you creep!" 

Snapping into stance, Mai forced down the fear and approached the burly creep from behind, tapping her fingers against his back. _(Mai needed to blow off some steam, after all)_ Almost immediately, as he whirled around to face thin air, his alcoholic breath wafted over and made Mai's nostrils pinch themselves shut. "Huh?" asked the man confusedly, looking down and spotting empty air.

The moment the words left his lips, a flash of silver entered his eyesight before it nicked his skin open, letting a scarlet of rivulet staining his loose tunic. Blinking in shock, he accidentally let go of the young woman and touched the open wound, letting out a childish mewl. Another knife flew in front of him, much slower than Mai usually would've done, and he jumped back, his eyes flying around wildly. Once he caught glimpse of her, wielding her third knife, he let out a long, long string of expletives, giving Mai enough time to get into the best position, and ran at her like a bull, waving his arms around. 

A snarl worked on her face when she saw his face shift and morph into someone else's. Azula's. 

His fists loomed over her like a great shadow and she saw, between the raging fires, his face again - not Azula. Unthinkingly, her muscles jerked and moved; she leaned forwards and held her hands up, letting the golden cuffs blind her assailant. There, he faltered, staggering back, and the fires that roared flickered and softened, only dully ringing against her golden cuffs.

Mai bit her lip when the heat warmed her wrists. She felt the sweat build up and winced at the feeling. Tossing away those annoyances, she flew at him, slamming her foot against his stomach and lunging the knives at the distracted man. Pinned against the wall, he could only conjure some fires before 

"Thanks," a voice said behind her, "You did what I wanted to do."

"No problem. I'd pay to see it," said Mai as she picked up her knives and shoved them back into her sleeves.

A laugh. "But you already paid for my acrobatics show - and a backstage pass!" 

"I suppose I did." Mai turned around and paused when she saw the woman's face - Ty Lee's face.

Ty Lee impostor grinned. "You look tired, want a glass of water and use that backstage pass?" 

"Sure." Mai decided to see what the Ty Sisters looked like. The Ty sister grabbed her hand and led her away from the drum-shattering chaos that threatened to swallow Mai up, easily evading people with a single step or push or pull or whatever acrobatic move. Mai thanked her altheletic training for managing to keep up with the girl, who mentioned her name was Ty Lin. 

Eventually, Mai found herself in the dressing room, filled with all the Ty sisters moving about, a few of them applying make-up, a few of them putting on a dress, a few of them practicing their tricks, and murmured out a hoarse "Thank you" to one of the sisters. Behind them, one of the sisters stole another sister's lipstick and the other sister was too busy wrestling her hair into pig tails. Two of them started walking on their hands, doing swift cartwheels, balancing themselves, generally moving like whorls of water, fluid and bendable. 

A flash of thunder blinded the room, turning everything to be so white her eyes started to hurt, and Mai was grateful nobody saw her flinch at the sound, her heart jumping towards her throat. Ty Lin remarked that it was incredibly strong tonight and closed the window, even going so far as to cover the window, thankfully. "You're here for the show, right? Why did you come backstage when you seem... so disinterested?"

"That's a nice way of putting it," said Mai, clearing her throat, "I bought a backstage pass for a friend. You'd know her. It's Ty-"

The sound of the screaming world entered once someone rushed inside, closing the door behind her. The door closing sounded like jail bars rattling.

Mai instinctively jerked up at the sound, remembering back to the time where she had to sleep in the darkness, surrounded by shrieking and fighting fighting inmates that all insisted they should get their justice and deserved a normal life, trying to hold onto her sanity as lightning invaded her sleep and formed an aggressive attack that would destroy everything she loved. As her blood started to run cold and her bones started shivering, Ty Lee shoved herself in front of Mai, waving her hand around.

"There you are, Mai! I was searching everywhere for you! Why did you leave me behind?-" 

Mai couldn't hear the rest as the onslaught of questions made her close her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. Again, the skies rumbled - another spark. Another spider-walk of fear burrowing into her heart. As if that wasn't bad enough, Ty Lee held her hands, looking deeply into her eyes, and the fear and happiness grappled with one another for dominance, raising her blood pressure and making her light-headed. "I... I...."

Thankfully, Ty Lin intervened. "Ty Lee? What are you doing here?" At this point, everyone around them stopped working and faced her, all murmuring about their lost sister coming back with varying levels of happiness and confusion. 

Ty Lee didn't let go of Mai's hands and turned around, sheepishness covering her face. "I... uh... wanted to see you guys and-." 

"Oh! That's so good-!-so late!- your hair! What are you- Why didn't you-" All sisters started to speak, forming a broken cohesion that started to slam against Mai's head. To keep herself sane, Mai covered her ears and guessed what was going on. All the sisters rushed forward, grabbing Ty Lee, enveloping her in an embrace, taking her around for a whirl, with Ty Lee struggling to form words, all the sounds of unbroken joy and ecstasy that made Mai's heart sting at the sheer openness and freedom of it all, only heightening her from the screaming lightning outside that told she was alone and she was seen and she was known and she was doomed-

( _Was it her or was Azula staring at her, away from the happy family reunion? Was Azula smirking at her, the evil smirk she gave to enemies that promised blood? Was Azula walking forward now, blood on her hands? Was Azula rushing now, as swift as a cheetagator, her bloodied hand raised over head in a victory sign with balls of lightning forming in her hands, growing and growing like a parasite, opening its mouth up for devouring-?)_

Unthinkingly, Mai stood up from her chair and escaped the room, hearing her loud heartbeat, loud enough that it nearly overpowered her hurried footsteps. She dove straight into the bustling crowd, slamming against a couple of people, not caring to look back as _Azula was right behind her again, the lightning was growing stronger again,_ and searched for an empty dark room where the lightning wouldn't touch her. 

She tried to lock the door; her hands were sweaty and slippery, only managing to half-lock it. It sounded like the rattling of jail bars, almost like the time when burly, stone-faced men threw Mai and Ty Lee inside the jail and spared them not a single glance.

Sinking on her knees, she grabbed her sides, holding onto her knives in order to comfort herself, and curled into a ball, thinking that the lightning wouldn't see her face, the lightning that brewed outside, searching for blood. Mai reminded herself that she didn't sleep that felt like straw and nails anymore; she was safe, she was safe, she was safe, but the fear stretched out from her heart and rotted her brain into a screaming, shattered mess. 

Mai could only wonder if the dreams sometimes followed Ty Lee, too, even though she seemed to always be smiling. Whenever the corner of her mouth drooped and her eyes darkened, she would freeze up and stare motionlessly at the ground, clenching her fists as her jaw tightened into a hard line. Mai knew those moments; those moments when the rats were the only thing that didn't seem to threaten you, those moments when prisoners hooted and leered and tore each other in the vain effort of having some control, those moments when the darkness seemed to be your mother, your mother that loved you and wanted to eat you. 

Azula screamed and snarled behind the door that she was going to lock her up, lock her up where no one, not even Ty Lee, would see her or love her, with lightning crackling from her fingers, the lightning hacking away at the door. The lightning flashed in front of her, seemingly growing and growing closer, stretching its fingers out to grab her and hurt her. Open up, Mai, and face your punishment, Open up, Mai, and face your judgement, Open up, Mai, and face your lightning- 

"Mai?" asked Ty Lee softly, rapping her fingers against the door. "Mai, it's me, Ty Lee."

"Go... away..." Much to her horror, Mai's voice cracked. Unable to help herself, Mai shuddered, letting out a jagged breath, as her eyes started to sting, with the tears blurring her eyesight and clinging onto her eyelashes. 

Ty Lee stepped in, standing behind her, as the door made creaking noises. There was pity and worry in her voice when she said, "Oh, Mai," and that caring tone nearly made Mai want to vomit.

"Go away," said Mai as she tried to stand up normally, and, just when she seemed to hold her head up, lightning burst inside the room and killed whatever composure Mai held on to. Ty Lee caught her before she fell onto the ground, and, as Ty Lee held her closer, Mai suddenly broke out into scream-crying noises with tears trailing down her face. 

Mai didn't want her to see her like this. "Ty Lee, it's not my fault - I can't- I can't- Azula-"

Once her words refused to make sense, refused to leave her throat, Ty Lee held her closer, her hair tickling Mai's skin, her flower fragrance embracing her lovingly, as she cooed, "I know, I know; it's... not that easy, either."

"How would you-" Then, Mai remembered Ty Lee was with her. In that jail.

Once, Ty Lee caught a dirty rat. She examined it, squeaking and squealing. "We're not so different, huh?" whispered Ty Lee, then. "We're just trying to live our best life while everybody else wants to kill us. We're innocent, aren't we? It's only dirt we're covered in." 

Mai didn't know what to say at that moment - it's okay, I'm with you, we'll make it through - that didn't feel like cracking open her skeleton and revealing the naked, bleeding flesh underneath that had scars and wounds even she flinched at. She could only hold her hand and move her into the corner with brighter lights and warmer temperatures, or, if the lights wouldn't work, Mai would just hold her and hide Ty Lee from all the onlookers Ty Lee was always sure of, always looking down on her. 

"Just let it all out..." Mai felt something wet touch her hair and she found some solace in the fact that she wasn't the only one openly broken. "We'll... just have to tough it out... Some day, some day, it'll all make sense in your life and it won't seem to end all your happiness." 

Mai grabbed Ty Lee's hand, feeling something golden and soft and gentle and sweet swell up inside her like a crescendo, and looked into those deep, teary eyes, as dark as chocolate. Mai managed a small smile, as genuine as it could be, and puffed out, "Maybe... we'll be stronger in the broken places." 

Suddenly, Azula didn't seem like such a bloody shadow in her world and everything was silent between them. The silence was enough for Mai. 

* * *

The heart-shaped chocolate, which Ty Lee gave it to her with a blush on her cheeks, melted pleasantly on Mai's tongue and she closed her eyes at that sweetening taste. She relaxed her body, searching for a comfortable position on the roof, as people below them left the circus in droves, pleasantly chatting with amazed eyes about the spectacle they saw. "So, what did you tell your sisters?" 

Ty Lee shrugged. "The usual 'you stole my talent, no, you did, no, we all did, wait, we're sisters who love each other, let's go check out the show.' They want to see me as a Kyoshi Warrior." Ty Lee suddenly looked uncomfortable, chewing on her lip. "Hey, Mai, I have something to tell you."

A feverish fire kindled itself in her heart, unwillingly. Her breaths became hitched and jagged; Mai struggled to keep on a calm facade. "What is it?"

"Zuko... wants to give Azula a second chance."

Her muscles weakened; her brain short-circuited. "Oh. Good for him. Not really."

"You're not mad? Everybody screamed at him for that." 

"I mean... Zuko is Zuko-"

"I thought you liked him?"

"I do. He's Zuko." Mai just realised she made it sound like an insult instead of a compliment. "He might do something that's stupid or useless or whatever, but... it works out for him. That's because he's Zuko."

"You really believe that? That when, even though it seems impossible, it might work out?" Ty Lee's face started to resemble a bloody rose as she chewed on her lip. "Well, then, Mai, I have something to tell you."

Time slowed. The skies started to move. 

"Well...Well... you know those stories where two people grow up with one another and become one soul in two bodies? Mai, I'm... I'm... in love with you."

Barely able to keep herself together, Mai let out an inhumane sound, nearly like a cathartic scream, and grabbed Ty Lee's hand and pressed her forehead gently against Ty Lee's warm forehead. "Yes, yes, yes!" She fervently said, like Ty Lee was a goddess and Mai was a dog at the shrine of her lies. "I love- I mean..." She cleared her throat, feeling her cheeks flame up, too. "I mean, I like... I love you-"

There wasn't much to say about after they kissed. Not even the rain could ruin it; Mai only held her long sleeve up above them, letting it fold open like butterfly wings, still continuing the kiss, still holding Ty Lee's hand like she was her only lifeline.

When they kissed, they knew there was a better tomorrow, the soft epilogue they always needed, and, through their shared fire of life, created the world's most beautiful love- flower on fire. 

**Author's Note:**

> In my head, I thought Mai hated lightning because it reminded her of Azula and Azula basically controlled Mai and contributed to Mai's trauma. Mai liked the darkness because she took a refuge within it. Yeah,it was way longer than expected and way, way gayer.  
> Leave comments and kudos, ig.


End file.
